


A Change Of Pace

by warriorblood1



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Albino Karkat, F/M, ace Damara, also warning for damara and several other characters swearing, children are children and helpful in some cases, meenah is kindof an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:03:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8101720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warriorblood1/pseuds/warriorblood1
Summary: Based off of this post: http://mathes0n.tumblr.com/post/124556514222/humanstuck-damkri-au-where-damaras-10-year-oldalternativley named "It's All Aradia's Fault", "TFW Your Crush's Little Sister Is The Ultimate Wingman™", "7 Minutes in Heaven...Eventually", "Kankri Doesn't Think Things Through", "A Fanfic With Dumb Chapter Names", or "Madd Can't Fucking Write Kankri Or Damara"COMPLETED!!!!





	1. How Could This Happen To Me?

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, this is the first time I've written any of these characters, so theyre a little OOC, sorry.
> 
> Also for reference: Kankri, Damara, and those guys are all about 18 and are in their senior year of highschool.
> 
> Karkat, Aradia, and those guys are about 10 and are in 4th grade.

     The red-headed boy flopped down on his bed. The clock read 6:12PM, too early for dinner but late enough for homework to be done. The sound of AC throughout the house, his father in the kitchen, and his brother the next room over was all that could be heard.

His name is Kankri Vantas, one of two children in the household, as well as the older of the two.

_((You wouldn't think Kankri and Karkat were related by looking at them - true they had similar facial structures, but while Kankri had dark amber eyes and firey red hair, Karkat had deep red eyes and was a very pale blond. Personality-wise, the main similarites between them was a deep caring for others, and talking a bit too much.))_

Today had been an interesting day. A long day to say the least.

Kankri figured he would stay home this weekend.


	2. The Hardcore Hide-And-Seek Champion Is...

     Aradia Megido was a 4'7" ten-year-old in fourth grade. Her long, dark hair was all over the place as she ran around the park behind her house, looking for a place to hide.

It's 4:13PM, and school has been out for almost an hour now. She is playing with a group of friends - Karkat Vantas, Sollux Captor, John Egbert, Rose Lalonde, Terezi Pyrope, Jade Harley, and Dave Strider.

It was a small town, so everyone lived close to eachother and went to the same school. The park behind Aradia's house was behind several of her friends house's as well.

Karkat was the seeker this round. Aradia was almost always found last, so they decided instead of last one found, they would just rotate. But where should she hide this time? She already had hid in the trees, and in the little cave below the park, and in the hard-to-reach "secret room" in the park, which was really one of the towers that was missing a few steps and had a small room at the top. All good spots that she didn't want to overuse in one day.

Then she was struck with a brilliant idea. Karkat was only at about 47 out of 100, and nobody would ever think to look for her outside of the park.

So she ran to the fence that seperated the park from the neighborhood they all lived in - Karkat was at 60 by the time she reached it - and climbed over it.

Not bothering to check who's yard it was, she opened the backdoor and went inside. There didn't seem to be anyone home, but the house was very clean and organized. It smelled faintly like cherries and old books.

The kitchen pantry is a classic place to hide in any home, so that was where she went. And there she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Back at the park, everyone had been found except for Aradia - she had won, to no ones surprise. But even though they called for her, she wouldn't come out. They started getting worried.

John's older sister Jane and Jade's older brother Jake, who had been the "chaparones" for the kids outing, hadn't seen where Aradia went either - they were focused on Terezi, who was partially blind and attempting to get to one of Aradia's other hiding spots - and thus they joined the search. Nobody thought to look past the park.

Back inside the house Aradia was in, she felt proud. Nobody would think to look here. However, the pantry was dark and cramped, and she tripped while trying to sit down and knocked something over in the process. It's fine though. Nobody's home anyways.

In the same house, upstairs, Kankri was finishing up the last of his homework when he heard the backdoor open and close. At first he thought it was Karkat, but then he remembered Karkat never uses the backdoor when coming home from the park. His next thought was that it was one of the neighbor's doors, or his imagination. He continued his work, and as he finished it, he heard a crash.

The household had no pets, and no one else was in the house but him. He was home alone - or was he?

Kankri decided it was best to check on the noise. Perhaps an animal had gotten into the house. At the bottom of the stairs, he heard movement.

First it was a door opening, and then bare footsteps. Then, the fridge opening and movement in there. Kankri quietly ran back up to his room.

Grabbing his phone, he dialed 911, and when he was answered he immediatley said "someone has broken into my home."

Back at the park, a similar situation had happened. Jake was calling Aradia's sister, Damara, and Jane was calling 911 to report a missing child. The other seven children were taken home, except for John, Rose, Dave, and Jade, who lived a bit further away and were going to be picked up by Rose's sister Roxy and Dave's brother Dirk.

Karkat refused to be lead home, he knew exactly where to go, and so he walked himself. He was the closest to the park anyways. However, on his way there, and police car passed him. At first he thought it was the one looking for Aradia but then he realized -

the car was headed towards his house.

When Karkat arrived, Kankri was outside talking to a police officer. The younger boy came up and tugged on Kankri's sleeve.

"Why is there a police officer here?" He asked.

"Ah-it's fine Karkat, no need to worry." Was the response. He didn't believe it.

Another police officer came out of the house, and asked the two Vantas brothers to come inside. He lead them to the kitchen, and inside the kitchen -

was Aradia. The officer asked if either of them knew her. Karkat shook his head yes and stepped forward. "Why are you in my house?" Was the first question. "I was hiding! Did I win?" She asked in return. "Yes but, Jake and Jane and everyone are super worried! They called the police!" He told her. She seemed confused. "Why?" "Because they couldn't find you!" "But you found me. So there's nothing to worry about!" She smiled.

As it turns out, Aradia was the only one who broke into the house, and after she was deemed as not a threat by Karkat and Kankri, they gave her a ride home and called Jake, Jane, and Damara. Mrs. Megido and Mr. Vantas were not very pleased to have gotten a call from the police, but were glad their children were safe.

And Aradia was dubbed the Official Hardcore Hide-And-Seek Champion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont follow aradia's example kids. bad stuff could happen.


	3. Wimpy Virgin SJW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for damara's language.

     The next day was a Friday. Being a "hall monitor", Friday's were Kankri's busy days. Many people would try to sneak out of class and leave school early, or just disrupt school in general. These people got detention, and a stern lecture from Kankri. Most believed the latter was worse.

However, it was the end of the day, and Kankri was packing up the last of his things when a set of slender hands with burgundy-painted nails were slammed onto his desk. Looking up, he vaguely recongized the face of the person in front of him.

She had been in detention many times, though he had never sent her.

_((The other hall monitor, Aranea Serket, had most likely put her there. Kankri and Aranea had a habit of giving out lectures whenever they caught people. Among those caught, it was decided Aranea was more favorable.))_

She had her hair up in a bun, with long strands of dark hair falling down past her shoulders in the front. Her eyes, though currently annoyed, were a reddish-brown, and surrounded by perfectly-done red mascara. Bright red lipstick covered her frowning lips.

He had to admit, she was pretty. But that is not a sole factor in liking someone. They should have a good, lovable personality as well. Surely someone who had been in detention as many times as her wouldn't have that kind of attitude.

"So." She started, and Kankri noticed she had a little bit of an accent. "Are you the guy who called the cops on my ten-year-old sister?" She asked.

Kankri cleared his throat. "That depends, do you happen to be related to Miss Aradia Megido?" She nodded. "I'm Damara Megido. So you did call the police on her." It seemed like more of a statement then a question, but he answered none the less. "Yes, I did. I assure you I was not aware that it was your sister who broke into my home, but I was too startled to go and see if it wasn't a robber, so, seeing as it is better to be safe than sorry, I called the authorities. I am sorry that it was sister, but I believe we should be greatful no one got hurt." He finished. Damara sighed and stopped leaning on the desk. "Wimpy virgin SJW..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She looked at him, eyes boreing into his soul. "I said you are a wimpy virgin SJW. It is not a lie." She stated. "I do not believe that-" "That what? You are not a wimpy virgin SJW? You are. You are wimpy for calling cops on ten year old, virgin for obvious reasons, and SJW because I have heard stories about your lectures. Tagging triggers before you speak and interuppting yourself when you think you offended someone, making lecture longer. You are SJW, and wimp, and virgin." She finished smugly. Kankri's mouth hung agape. She did do a good job of backing up her theory, but he refused to believe he was wimpy or an SJW. She was right about the virgin part though, not like that really mattered.

As he was about to refute, Damara grabbed her bag and walked out the door with a sly smile and a "later, _くそったれ_." He wasn't entirely sure of what that last part meant, but he knew it was probably something rude. However...

Something about her struck him. Left him, well, speechless. And it wasn't her speech about how he was a "wimpy SJW".

She was loud, rude, and clearly a trouble-maker but...

Something within him said that deep down, she was a nice, caring person.

He hardly even knew her, yet just think about her smile, even that shit-eating grin from when she left, made him a bit flustered.

He shook his head. This meant nothing. She was a trouble-maker, and probably a soon-to-be-dropout. No, he shouldn't think that way either. Surely she was capable of great things, even if she was loud and rude and got in trouble a lot.

Besides, she probably isn't single.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> according to the website i found it on, "くそったれ" means "shit drip." according to google translate it means asshole but i like shit drip better.


	4. Wha-No I'm Not Staring. No I Did Not Follow Her Here I Didn't Even Know She Was Coming Here I Hardly Know Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this ones a little more OOC than usual, sorry :/

     A week passed. Throughout that week, Kankri had begun to spot Damara more often. She would be talking with one person or flirting with another, or getting very close to starting a full-on brawl. Once he actually caught her sneaking out of school and gave her a weeks worth of detention.

_((He did, however, give her the independence to pick which days she went to detention, as long as it's finished within the month. Something he has never done before.))_

He noticed she was in a few of his classes, and they talked a few times, though she never called him by his name. It was always "Wimpy SJW" or "Virgin Boy" or something in Japanese, never Kankri.

Over the course of the week he learned one thing regarding her.

She was a witch.

Not literally. And not an evil witch. But she somehow has made him begin to fall for her. It's not his fault. Clearly she cast some kind of spell when they first met.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Kankri picks up Karkat from school and walks home with him. The day of the incident with Aradia was a surprise, Mr. Vantas was only told he was needed to stay late until he was about to leave, but normally its Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Kankri walked down the path towards the elementary school, and through the fence he could see some of his brother's friends waiting out front, talking amongst eachother. As he was reaching the front gate, someone with messy dark hair got up and started running towards the entrance. Upon turning his head he saw her.

Damara was here. Why? He thought, but then smacked himself in the face in his mind. Aradia goes to this school. Aradia and Damara are sisters. Damara is obviously here to pick up Aradia.

He stood there for a second and then when he tried to take a step forward, he tripped and fell into a bush.

Feeling stupid, he crawled behind the bush instead of standing back up.

Either Damara didn't notice or didn't care because she continued talking with Aradia. After a moment of sta-looking in her general direction, Kankri shook his head and, feeling stupid again, started to stand up. But then Aradia said something, and Damara smiled a real smile and laughed. And he sat back down in awe at her, his face heating up ever so slightly.

After a few moments, her and Aradia turned and walked in the opposite direction that him and Karkat walked. Yet he continued watching her for another moment.

"Why are you staring at Aradia's sister?"

"Gah! Karkat? What are you doing youre supposed to wait by the entrance!"

Kankri silently thanked Karkat for his intrusion, realizing that he was in fact staring at her and he looked like a bit of a stalker and nobody wants that.

"I was, and I saw you coming but then you fell and didn't get up and then you started staring at Aradia's sister. In other words, I got tired of waiting for you to come over there." Karkat explained. _Jeez,_ Kankri thought, _I must have zoned out._ "I wasn't staring." He lied, "I was...watching." Karkat gave a disbelieving look. "Why were you staring at her from a bush anyways? Did you follow her here?" Kankri stood up. "No, I did not follow her here, I didn't even know she would be here, I hardly know her!" He told Karkat, a bit too loudly.

Karkat sighed. "Okay, fine. Let's just go home already, I'm hungry."

At 8:04PM, Kankri accepted the fact that he really liked Damara.

At 8:08PM, he accepted the fact that he needed help if he were to ever become even remotely friends with Damara.

At 8:16PM, he called a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kankri stop being an accidental stalker jesus christ


	5. I Know The Saying Is God Help Me But You're The Best I've Got

     At 8:16PM, she got a call and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Aranea! Please help me I have no idea what I'm doing."

Aranea Serket, the other hall monitor, was rather confused. Kankri never called people this late on school days, and she had never heard him ask for help. "Um, help with what?" She asked.

There was a pause on the other line. "Kankri?"

"Help with...a..." he muttered something after that. "Kankri, I can't hear you." He sighed.

"I need help with a girl that gets in trouble a lot but is mostly likely a very nice person deep down." Well that made sense. Not really.

"Soooooooo...you want to help her stop getting detention?" Kankri grumbled on the other line, and sighed again.

"I...I want to date her." Ooooooooh. Now she understood why he came to her.

Aranea was dating a "troublemaker", so to speak. He was a pretty nice guy, to most people, but he did slack off a lot and she and Kankri both have sent him to detention multiple times. His name is Cronus Ampora, and honestly he is quite the handful. But she doesn't mind. She loves him.

_((Not to mention Aranea had also dated both Meenah Peixes and Porrim Maryam, both people who were not exactly "model students." She definately had some experience in this area.))_

"Oh, well, may I ask who it is?" She inquired. There was a pause. "Damara Megido." Oh boy.

"Well...Damara is..." She didn't have a lot of information on Damara. She had a lot of information on a lot of people, but not Damara. "Well, she doesn't get along with most people, and her last boyfriend cheated on her...I'd say she has trust issues but I'm really not sure. She used to be a very sweet and gentle girl, but around her sophomore year something happened, and she became more like how she is now."

"Oh.." was the only response. She figured he felt bad for her. "I'm...not entirely sure what she does enjoy..."

There was another long pause for both of them.

"How did you meet her anyways?"

"I called the police on her ten year old sister Aradia."

"Well that's certainly not earning you any brownie points."

Kankri chuckled. He took a deep breath. "If we don't know what she enjoys, we might as well try to find out. I think I may have a plan. Is there anyone in particular that we know that she dislikes?" He asked, sounding a bit more upbeat. Aranea thought for a moment. "Rufioh Nitram, her ex who cheated on her, and Horuss Zahhak, Rufioh's current boyfriend. And Meenah Peixes, they have some kind of rivalry going on."

He thought for a moment. "Alright. Thank you Aranea. I'll see you tomorrow!" She said goodbye and hung up.

At 8:31PM, Kankri had a plan.


	6. No, It's Not A Date, It's An Outing With Friends. Yes, You Have Friends, We Are Friends

     One Friday a month, the schools get out half and hour early. Usually its the same day for all schools, but sometimes the highschool is a week off. Today was one of those days.

It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the highschool to the elementary school. When Kankri got there, he noticed Aranea and Cronus off to the side talking, and Meenah hanging around near them, talking to someone on the phone.

And Damara was by herself at the front gates.

As Kankri stood there, thinking of what to say, Rufioh and Horuss arrived. He saw Damara scowl and look away.

 _Maybe I should ask some other time_ , he thought, and immediatley shook the thought out of his head. _No time like the present._

He walked over too her, and she looked up.

_((At this point he had come to the realization that he was a bit taller than her, she had to look up to fully see his face. She thinks he stands up too tall. He figures she slouches.))_

He cleared his throat, unaware of the kids at the window, watching. "Hello, Damara." "What do you want, _くそまじめ_." She spat. "I apologize for not understanding the last part of that sentence. However, I would...I-I would like to invite you to an, outing, so to speak, with a few of our friends." He smiled. She raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me on a date?" He felt his face getting hot. "No, no, no! I-It's not a date, its a friendly meetup, with friends!" He sputtered out. She looked away. "I don't have any friends." "Wha-yes you do, we're friends, right?" He asked, hoping she considered them friends as well. She sighed. "I guess. Who else is coming?" He smiled once more. "I asked Aranea and Cronus, and they said they could come. Do you have anyone else you'd like to invite?"

She was quiet for a moment, like she was lost in thought. Then she furrowed her brow and said, "No, just the four of us is fine. Nobody else."

Kankri frowned and remembered what Aranea told him.  _She used to be a very sweet and gentle girl, but around her sophomore year something happened, and she became more like how she is now._ What happened to her? He wanted to ask but he didn't want to bring up bad memories either. He just wanted to help...

The bell rang and snapped him out of his thoughts. Karkat, Aradia, and the rest of the class came outside to find their parents or siblings. Damara began to walk over to Aradia.

"Wait!" He accidentally had shouted.

She turned towards him. "What?"

No rude nickname this time, probably because of the kids. "Could I have your phone number? To call you about the meetup." He asked, meekly. She rolled her eyes and ripped a scrap of paper out of a notebook. Scribbling down her number, she handed the paper to Kankri, and disappeared into the crowd to find her sister.

Karkat came up to him. "You know she lives down the street from us, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins.
> 
> today's "thing damara says in japanese" supposedly means someone who is "over-serious" or a "goodie two-shoes" yaay


	7. The Curse Of Fish Puns And Running

     Kankri, Aranea, Cronus, and Damara had agreed to have their outing downtown on Sunday. For a while all was well.

They met up at about noon, walked around for a bit, and got lunch. It was currently 1:45PM, and they were walking down the street towards a music shop that Cronus had somehow convinced them to go to. Everyone was happy. Until...

Someone had snuck up behind them  
and began leaning on Aranea's shoulder.

"Sup _gill_ friend, _water_ ya doin' with these assholes?"

Aranea jumped at the new weight on her shoulder, and Cronus tensed up as well. When Kankri and Damara turned around...

"Meenah? What are you doing here?"

Meenah smiled wide. " _Whale_ , since ya told me yesterday that ya _cod_ n't meet up 'cuz you were havin' some kinda get-together, I figured I'd join ya, just for the _halibut_!" She glanced over towards Damara and Kankri, and then back to Aranea.

"Do you remember _**why**_ I told you I was going to this 'get-together' instead of a meet up with you?" Aranea asked, slightly annoyed. Kankri could tell that underneath that annoyance was worry.

"Not _reely_. I wasn't payin' much attention. Prolly some _fin_ a _boat_ a double-date, judgin' from the scenario here. I guess the other half neva showed up." She smirked, glancing over at Damara again. Aranea sighed. "No, it was a friendly outing with Kankri, Damara, and Cronus. I much prefer this company to your outrageous adventures." Meenah scoffed. "My adventures aren't out _ray_ geous, they're flippin' awesome! _Sea_ riously, you need ta learn ta let loose." And with that, Meenah grabbed Aranea's left hand and Kankri's right, and dragged them both down the street, leaving Cronus and Damara in the dust.

Kankri heard Cronus running after them, yelling at Meenah, but looking over his shoulder...

Damara had stayed where she was. He couldn't quite make out her expression, but soon enough she had turned the other direction and began walking. Kankri stopped running, was dragged along for a second, and then the three of them tripped.

Meenah started cackling, and Aranea refused to be helped up by Cronus, and Kankri stood up and started running in the direction of Damara.

Halfway down the street he became aware that he had scraped his chin and hand on the sidewalk, and was beginning to bleed.

Three quarters of the way down the street, Damara made a turn, and he called out her name. As he made the turn, she looked over her shoulder, and started running.

_Curse Meenah_ , he thought, _curse her and her dumb fish puns..._

After tripping twice and at least three solid minutes of running, Kankri finally caught up to Damara. He put a hand on her shoulder and she whipped around, knocking it away. He paused to catch his breath.

"I apologize in advance if it is triggering to you, but may I ask why you ran away?"

She looked to the side. "It does not matter. I'm going home now." She began to turn around.

"Wait!" He accidentally had shouted.

She turned towards him. "What?"

It mimicked the day at the elementary school. "...Was it because of Meenah?" She tensed up at the name. "Did...something happen between you two?" She looked away once again. "I'll take that as a 'yes, but I don't want to talk about it.' You don't have too." He told her.

He wanted to know. He wanted to help, but he couldn't help if he didn't know, could he? But she didn't want him to know. Did she not want to be helped? She seemed so distant... was it because of whatever happened to her in 10th grade?

Damara nodded slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kankri." She walked further down the street and unlocked her car. She revved up the engine, and drove away.

She called me Kankri...

The next two months was filled with Kankri trying to get Damara to go on more "outings" with him. Sometimes with Aranea and Cronus, sometimes with Latula and Mituna, sometimes with Porrim and Jane, and even sometimes just the two of them. But everytime, without fail, something happened.

Sometimes Meenah would show up.

A few times they ran into Rufioh and Horuss.

Most often, however, all would go well until the end. Damara would start to get distant, and seemed unhappy, and lost in thought.

At first he thought it was because the "outings" were too long, so he shortened them. But that seemed to make her unhappier quicker.

Then he thought that maybe there were too many "outings" too close together, so he spaced them out more. He couldn't tell what she thought about that.

At the beginning of the third month of their "outings," Kankri asked her if she'd like to go with just the two of them. She said no. He asked who she wanted to invite. She said no one.

She walked away.

Throughout the week, she avoided him. He tried to apologize by leaving small gifts and notes on her desk and locker, thinking he had done something wrong. She never responded.

He flopped down on his bed, unsure of what to do. Over the course of the three and a half months he had known her, he was certain now that he was in love. But he was begining to think that there wasn't even a friendship between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #its all meenah's fault 2kAlways
> 
> also i personally imagine the peixes with and australian accent, and i tried to write her like that but i failed. whoops


	8. Calling For Help...Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> despite it being chapter 8 and aranea being the go-to advice person, this chapter does not feature any serkets. ha.
> 
> also this is a shorter chapter whoops. but we're almost done!

     It was the beginning of December. School would be out for winter break soon. The night before, Kankri had called for help once again, but this time he didn't ask Aranea. The three of them met up the next day.

"So, Damara's avoiding you? Welp, you lasted quite a while, I've gotta admit.." The taller woman said, stirring her tea. The shorter, chubbier woman elbowed her. "Porrim, we're here to help."

Porrim sat up. "I know, Jane, I know. I'm just messing with him." She snickered before turning back to Kankri. He shifted in his seat. "I just don't know what I did..." he said into his cup. Porrim and Jane exchanged a glance.

"Maybe you reminded her of Rufioh?"

He looked up, and set his cup down. "How would I have done that?" He asked. And the interview began.

"Did you ever call her doll?"

"No."

"Did you binge-watch anime with her and then make out?"

"God, no!"

"Have you been talking about how great you are and not asking about her?"

"Of course not!"

Porrim and Jane glanced at eachother again, then sighed. "Well, I think we can safely say that's not why she's avoiding you..." He frowned. "But we're looking for why she _is_ avoiding me..." Porrim shrugged. Jane leaned on the table. "Maybe she's just tired of you?" He looked up, confused and slightly hurt. "What do you mean?" Jane frowned. "Well, sometimes when people spend _too much time_ around eachother, they need a break from that person. Maybe that's what happened." Jane explained. Kankri looked down into his cup.

After a little more discussion, Kankri thanked them for their help and payed for his drink.

_((The two of them, who've been dating for almost two years now, wanted to continue their lunch at the cafe. Kankri lost his appatiete the moment Jane said Damara may be sick of him.))_

At home, he discovered Karkat was at his friend Dave's house, so he decided to wander around the house, looking for something to do.

He ended up sitting at the kitchen table, reading. But he wasn't reading. He was lost in thought.

When was the last time he had been in love?


	9. Reminiscence Of Past Love

     It was 8th grade. A 13 year old boy with fiery red hair and dark amber eyes stood on a corner, waiting.

In his hand was a few, small flowers, picked from the school yard. There were a million flowers like these, but it was the best he could do, for now. When she says yes, he'll bring her a bigger, better bouquet of much prettier, better smelling flowers.

Here she came. A tall girl, also 13, with long auburn hair, and beautiful blue eyes hidden behind square red-tinted lenses.

_((She wasn't riding her skateboard today, since it wasn't allowed on school grounds she figured there was little point in taking it to school, at least on the days she isn't going to the skate park.))_

She spotted him and smiled. "Hey Kanny!!" She shouted, and ran over to him. He couldn't help but smile a bit himself as his face flushed slightly. "Hello, Latula."

Latula Pyrope was the most amazing girl he had ever met. She was talented, and beautiful, and fun.

He loved her.

"Ey, what're ya doin' with those flowers? Gonna ask someone out?" She laughed. He blushed more. "Ah, a-actually, yes. You are aware of the winter dance coming up soon, right?" He asked her. He knew that she knew. She had been talking about it for the past week.

She nodded and smiled bigger. "It sounds super rad!!" She exclaimed. _Yes, it does_ , he thought. He cleared his throat, and held out the flowers.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me?"

_Wow, I said that without stuttering._

Latula looked surprised. And then she looked away. She frowned.

"Actually..." she paused, and forced herself to look back at him. "You know that rad guy at the skate park, Mituna? He goes to our school, and he asked me to go to the dance with him!" She smiled, nervously.

Kankri looked confused. He refused to accept what he thought was happening. "W-Well, what did you say?" She looked to the side again. "Um, I said yes."

He refused to accept this.

"And honestly, even if he didn't ask me... I would probably still say no to you. I... this is hard to say but, I've always just seen us as friends..." She continued to avoid his gaze. His arm dropped to his side.

"Ah, well, th-thats fine. I hope you have a good time at the dance with, um, Mituna, was it? Yes... I'll see you tomorrow, Latula."

He walked away without another word.

So did she.

He loved her.

He told her that.

She didn't love him back.

It took at least two years, but he got over her. In that time, she and Mituna started dating, Mituna got into an accident that messed with his balance and with his personality. Both boys thought she would leave him. But instead, she helped him learn to skate again. She stayed with him through all those years.

Kankri couldn't help but be jealous.

But he got over it. Not only that, he swore celibacy, for who knows how long. It's lasted nearly five years now. December 12th, at 3:35PM, it will have been 5 years since Latula Pyrope turned him down.

5 years since he's loved someone like he loved her.

December 12th also happens to be the four month anniversary of his meeting of a new love.

His meeting of Damara Megido.

The opening of a door snapped Kankri out of his memories. Looking over, he saw Karkat and Mr. Vantas. His father smiled. "Back from your date, Kankri?"

Kankri sighed, looking back at his book. "They aren't dates, they're outings. And today wasn't even an outing, it was a meetup. But yes, I am back."

Karkat trudged through the room, looking angry. "May I ask what happened?"

Karkat looked over. "Doesn't matter." He grumbled, and continued to walk to his room. Kankri looked over to his father. "He got in a fight with Dave." No surprise there, Kankri thought, something like that was bound to happen. He hoped they stayed friends.

Meanwhile, Karkat had gone past his room, and into the computer room. After opening a chat client called PesterChum, he clicked a name and began typing.

**\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling apocolypseArisen [AA] at 6:12PM --**

CG: ARADIA, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

AA: whats the matter?

CG: KANKRI IS INSANE.

AA: y0uve said that bef0re

AA: l0ts 0f times actually

CG: HE'S MORE INSANE NOW.

AA: h0w s0?

CG: YOUR SISTER IS AVOIDING HIM AND NOW HE WONT LEAVE HOME.

AA: that d0es s0und like a pr0blem 0_0

AA: what sh0uld we d0?

CG: I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, idk how to do the colors for the pesterlogs
> 
> oh whale


	10. Reminiscence Of Past Love (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: mentions of underage(?) sex, past bullying, slurs (technically? im not sure), cheating relationships, and mentions of violence (nothing to horrible or descriptive though)
> 
> ((is it still underage if both people are underage? these are thing i should look up.))

     It was 8th grade. A 13 year old girl with long, dark hair kept in a neat braid and reddish-brown eyes waited on a corner. She was expecting someone.

Here he came. She smiled big, and ran over to him. They hugged breifly, before the boy pulled away and began to speak.

He had spikey, dark brown hair, and the tips had been dyed red. She was there when he did it at his house, in fact, she had helped. His dark amber eyes twinkled with happiness as he smiled.

"Do you wanna go to the winter dance this year, doll?" He asked her. She shook her head no. "Dances are overrated, Rufioh."

Rufioh Nitram laughed and nodded his head. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. I have a better plan. Why don't we go to your house and watch this new anime I found?" He asked, knowing she'd say yes, which she did.

The day of the dance they went through with the plan. In addition to the plan, something else, much more unplanned happened.

After the show was over, they made out. It led to the two of them losing their virginity.

_((The morning after, something felt wrong. She wasn't pregnant, she stole a couple of Ms. Megido's pregnancy tests, and they came up negative. It was something else. The whole thing just felt...wrong. She never had any desire to do that, and she didn't have the desire to do it ever again either._

_But she did. It was against her better judgement, but she did.))_

A year and a half later, they were in highschool. The end of their freshman year, to be specific.

The year had granted them both new friends. Horuss Zahhak, Meenah Peixes, and more. The whole time Damara felt like something was off. The whole group seemed to spend more time around Rufioh than anyone else.

That's when she found out. Rufioh had been cheating on her with Horuss for the past year, at least. She broke up with him immediatley.

She loved him.

He betrayed her.

Over the summer, Rufioh came to her apologizing. He told her that he broke it off with Horuss, and wanted her back. She said yes.

_((It was against her better judgement. She wanted to lash out at him, to scream 'no, go away, I never want to see you again.' But she didn't. She accepted him back with open arms._

_It was against her better judgement, but they had sex again._

_Once again, it felt wrong.))_

She welcomed him back.

Once again, she loved him.

Once again, he betrayed her.

He hadn't broken it off with Horuss. She broke up with him again.

Months later, Meenah came to her. She mocked her for her welcoming back of Rufioh. She called her a slut for losing her virginity in 8th grade. She told her things like _"he **never** loved you,"_ and _"you don't mean **anything** , to **anyone**."_ She didn't understand why.

It was against her better judgement, but she believed Meenah. She believed every word.

And the next time Meenah told her those things, she snapped.

She was a part of the baseball team.

She grabbed a bat.

She swung.

Meenah coughed up blood for a week.

But she wasn't done. She found Rufioh.

He tried to talk to her, but she didn't listen.

She swung.

Rufioh had to go to the hospital because of a broken rib.

She was kicked out of the baseball team, and suspened from school.

When she returned, the news that _"Damara is insane, she tried to kill Rufioh and Meenah,"_ had spread throughout the school.

Everyone hated her.

She hated them back.

Everyone was scared of her.

She wanted them to be afraid.

No one wanted to be anywhere near her.

She didn't care.

_((But she did. She wanted to feel loved again. She wanted friends again. But they were scared, and hateful._

_It was against her better judgement, but she was too.))_

Two years later, the police knocked on her door. They had Aradia. They told her that a man named Kankri Vantas called them because he thought a robber had broken into his house, but it wasn't a robber. It was her sister. She found him the next day.

After talking to him, something about him struck her as odd. It didn't take her long to realize what it was.

He was lonley.

He was hated.

He was just like her.

It was against her better judgement, but she fell in love with him.


	11. For Christ's Sake Karkat Stop Running Off With Other Children

  
     December 12th came and passed. Soon, it would be Christmas break. Today was a Wednesday, one of the days Kankri was to pick up Karkat. As well as one of the days Damara picked up Aradia. The highschool's winter dance was that Friday. He didn't plan to go.

He walked to the elementary school, taking a little longer than usual. He blamed the cold.

When he got there, Damara was not by the gate. He walked to the steps.

Many children were there, but there was no sign of the messy dark hair that belonged to Aradia. Nor the pale hair and deep red eyes of Karkat.

"Have any of you seen Karkat?" He asked. They all shook their heads, some yes and some no. One girl, who was wearing a cat hat, shouted out. "The Hunteress, that's me, saw Karkat go with Aradia and her sister!" She smiled. Kankri thanked the small girl and left in the direction of his house, panicking slightly.

Running past his house, he ran down the street and turned left, remembering how close they lived.

Shortly, he came to a stop at house number 509. The Megido Household. He walked up the steps to the door. From inside, he could hear a TV.

He knocked on the door, praying that one of the children would answer it.

His prayers were not answered, and Damara answered the door.

"Pleasure to see you, Damara! I was told that Karkat was here?" He asked. She nodded. "Yes, he is here. Aradia forced me to be the seeker." She said. He raised an eyebrow. "For hide and seek?" She nodded, and invited him inside. "Once we find Karkat, you can take him home. It shouldn't be hard, he is loud and clumsy. Aradia will win, as usual."

Now he was roped into searching the house for his brother and his crush's little sister. However, they were no where to be found, and he was getting worried.

There was a closet on the first floor, across from the living room and kitchen. The door was closed, unlike nearly every other door in the house, and was immediatley deemed suspicious. Damara opened the door, got on her knees, and looked through the bottom of the closet. Kankri, being taller, looked up at the top ledge. Luckily, no one was on there, so no one could fall and get hurt. Unluckily, no one was on the floor either. Damara stood up and turned around. He sighed. "Maybe we should call someone? What if they went outside and got kidnapped?" She stopped him there. "They are here, stop your worrying, Virgin Boy."

He was suddenly aware of how close they were in the small closet. He was taking a step back when...

The door slammed behind him, knocking him forward.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

Tripping, he relflexivley put his hands up, which landed on the wall. That didn't stop him from

1: accidentally headbutting Damara,

or

2: accidentally kissing her.

His face flushed in record time and he pulled away almost the second they made lip contact. He put his hands up in surrender, and self defense.

"I-I-I'm sorry, that was a complete accident!! The door shut and I tripped and, I'm so sorry, I couldn've triggered you, I'm not a fan of being touched myself, and-" She held a hand to his mouth, annoyed. "Stop talking. I'm not triggered." She stepped back, finally putting a reasonable distance between them.

His logic said to turn around and open the door.

His reason said to forget it ever happened.

His heart said to try again.

He looked back at her, still blushing furiously. In the darkness, she was even more beautiful. Her eyes still shone brightly, despite being in annoyed stare. She wasn't wearing much makeup today, not that he could see at least. Her mascara was black, but she might not be wearing any. He knew she had no lipstick on, he would've known from that split-second kiss. She had her hair down completely, and a stray strand could be seen on her forehead. But he was really still lost in her eyes. Wait, what's that warmth on his neck?

Suddenly, their noses bumped and Kankri was aware that they were now very close, and Damara's arms were around his neck. Had he moved forward without realizing it? How long had it been?

Instead of asking questions, he let his heart guide him again. He leaned in again, mere centimeters from her lips, when he suddenly tensed up. Being touched was not his thing. He tried to pull away.

But she wouldn't let him. She pulled him closer and kissed him, and this time, it was better. But he didn't kiss back.

She began to pull away when, for some reason even he didn't know, Kankri leaned in and continued the kiss. Damara seemed to smile as she joined in.

It was all a blur. The two kissed in the closet for what felt like hours. Could it be considered making out if neither felt or wanted the sexual intimacy out of it? There were no wrong moves, no inappropriate touches. It was like a dream.

Eventually, the two stopped, partly for air and partly to get back to the search.

It took a moment for him to fully realized what happened. "I...I'm sorry, I should've asked if that was okay...n-not to say it wasn't nice, just, one of us could've been triggered, and everything could've gone wrong-" she put a hand on his shoulder. "No triggers. It was nice." She smiled. He felt his face heat up again. "Um. W-Would you like to go to the Winter Dance with me?" He asked. She continued smiling as she stepped back and opened the door. "That would be nice."

He loved her.

She loved him.

And all was well.

  
**_ The End. _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading A Change Of Pace. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.
> 
> ((also dont worry, karkat and aradia were on the couch watching TV with kankri and damara were in the closet.))


End file.
